Me’ah Select: Just Another Denomination? Jews, Christians and Jewish Christians in the First 400 Years

Just Another Denomination? Jews, Christians, and Jewish Christians in the First 400 Years, this 10 session class is taught by Rabbi Micha’el Rosenberg at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham. People often think of Christianity as a “daughter” religion of Judaism, breaking away from the earlier, more ancient religion in the first century CE to become its own, distinct religious identity. But recent scholarship has pointed out the porous boundaries between “Judaism” and “Christianity” in antiquity, perhaps well into the 4th century CE, as well as the ways in both Judaism and Christianity arise roughly contemporaneously. How might the Jewish community of the first century and its successors have given rise to what we now know as two distinct religions? And what does a more nuanced understanding of this ancient history teach us about contemporary intra-Jewish debates, radical theologies, and Jewish-Christian relations?

The program is supported by Hebrew College and CJP’s Commission on Jewish Learning and Engagement.

Me’ah Select is a ten week in-depth exploration of a specific theme, text, personality or slice of Jewish history. Our talented faculty, known for their scholarship and dynamic approach to adult learning, bring their classes to life through the study of literature, history, art, and original texts and source material.